Western Sahara: Four Attractions and Natural Wonders

A vast desert territory with an unresolved political status

Western Sahara, a sparsely populated stretch of the Sahara along Africa's northwest Atlantic coast, remains one of the world's few territories without an internationally settled political status. Morocco administers the majority of the territory (including all the areas described below) and considers it part of Morocco, while the Polisario Front, backed by Algeria, seeks independence for the Sahrawi people through a self-declared government in exile; a UN-monitored ceasefire has held since 1991, with a promised referendum on the territory's status never having taken place.

The four sights below are all located in the Moroccan-administered coastal areas, where a small tourism industry operates. Read the note at the end for context on the territory's status before planning any visit.

1. Laayoune

Laayoune, the largest city in Western Sahara, serves as the territory's administrative and commercial centre under Moroccan governance, with a modern cathedral (a relic of the Spanish colonial period that preceded Moroccan control) standing alongside newer development driven by phosphate mining and fishing, two of the territory's main industries.

2. The Sahara Desert landscape

Western Sahara's interior is dominated by vast, sparsely populated desert, among the least densely populated territories on earth — its landscape shaped as much by its position along historic trans-Saharan trade routes as by its more recent and unresolved political history.

3. The desert interior

Much of Western Sahara's vast interior remains essentially uninhabited, its terrain ranging from rocky plateaus to open desert, crossed historically by nomadic Sahrawi communities whose traditional way of life has been significantly disrupted by the territory's decades-long political dispute and the physical berm (a lengthy defensive wall) that divides Moroccan-controlled areas from those administered by the Polisario Front.

4. Dakhla

Dakhla, on a narrow peninsula further south along the coast, has built an international reputation as one of the world's premier kitesurfing and windsurfing destinations, its sheltered lagoon offering flat water and strong, highly consistent trade winds considered ideal for the sport — drawing a dedicated community of watersports enthusiasts largely separate from the territory's wider political situation.

A practical note

Western Sahara's political status remains unresolved: Morocco administers and considers the majority of the territory (including Laayoune and Dakhla) part of Morocco, a position not universally recognised internationally, while the Polisario Front continues to seek independence, and a UN peacekeeping mission (MINURSO) monitors a ceasefire that has held since 1991 despite periodic tensions and, at times, renewed low-level conflict along the berm since 2020. Visitors currently travel to the Moroccan-administered coastal cities described above much as they would to Morocco itself, but should check current government travel advice given the territory's unresolved status and the more restricted, generally inadvisable situation in areas nearer the berm or under Polisario administration.